Has anyone ever wondered why UVic employs so many online student learning "tools"? I did my undergrad here and during that time plus my time in this program I have had to use - the regular UVic Blackboard, business Blackboard, Blogger, Moodle and Sharepoint. Each of them are slightly different and offers slightly different features. In addition, I have also had to keep track of each of my courses' websites. I have to admit, having these online tools have allowed me to access information from practially anywhere - at home, school, etc. However, sometimes I feel that there are too many to keep track of. During my undergrad, sometimes, I miss information because I forget to check a blog but its difficult when there's 4 other websites to keep checking for my other classes. Why can't UVic provide its students with a student portal that consolidates these tools to make my life easier?
Thanks to our beloved tech class, we now know all sorts of tools that are available to us. But how do we keep it under control? How do we ensure that technology is serving as tools rather than barriers?
I came across this when I was compiling some stuff for the e-binder: Check it out it may give you ideas.
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You make a really good point Aisa. Technology should make things easier. In our philosophy class we talked about how over reliance on technology can lead to a reliance on experts. This can lead to people becoming passive and un-empowered (is that a word?).
ReplyDeleteWhen we use technology in the classroom it should provide something the student would not get otherwise or improve a lesson. The much maligned PowerPoint would be a good example of this. You often see people (especially university profs) using PowerPoint without thinking about why they are using it or how to use it effectively. Too often it seems that PowerPoint is used as a way to cram tons of words into a presentation. It is not often used to enhance student learning through good visuals or reinforcement of the most important points.
I totally agree with you about websites. In tech class we worked on a class website. It was a useful tool, but it is easy to see how this can contribute to website overload. Centralization and ease of use are important. If the purpose of the website is to effectively get information to students, then they should be set up in a way to do this as effectively as possible.
Call me old-fashioned (or just plain old), but it seems to me that far too much time has been spent this semester on teaching us how to use various kinds of technology. At the same time, hardly any time has been devoted to, you know, teaching us how to TEACH!!!!
ReplyDeleteOk, I know that teaching someone how to be a teacher isn't like teaching someone how to, say, drive a car or whatever--it's something that takes many, many years of experience and trial and error to master, and it may not be possible to truly 'teach' it. Still, besides a bunch of psychology (potentially useful information) and a little philosophy (???), I feel like all I've really learned this semester is that the ability to master a bunch of websites and online tools is apparently the most important skill needed to be a teacher these days. I know this is the 21st century and all, and computers rule the world (but not at Vic High, and I'm sure not at a lot of other schools as well), but sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode if I have to keep up with another blog, or e-portfolio entry, or e-binder, or course website, or e-learning tool, or wiki, or webquest, or online this and online that.....BOOM!
So, yeah, technology should make things easier. It doesn't. It just makes things more complicated. It also makes some people a lot of money. That's why it's pushed on us so hard.
I think I'm going to teach in a one room schoolhouse with no electricity in the middle of nowhere.
--End of cynical rant. Feel free to point out the irony of me bad-mouthing technology while sitting at a computer and blogging.
Can't wait for the party tomorrow.
Great postings, amigos.
ReplyDeleteI hear your frustration with having to keep up with what seem like too many course websites and emails to different accounts etc. There has been some communal frustration about professors emailing their powerpoint notes the morning of the early-morning class, and missing information on moodle and blog posts because well, you didn't put yourself on a 3X per day schedule of checking these sites in the only breaks you have between 6 courses and work etc.
While I don't normally like to take the position of the complainer, this time I feel justified. These technological 'tools' can be useful - yes, they can increase the ability to 'reflect' and share personal reflections and beliefs. Yes, they are a tool of dialogue between people. Yes, they may be especially helpful to those people who for whatever reason don't get to share their thoughts on these issues in person. Yes, I will also concede that they may be a creative outlet.
However, when people assign tech-heavy methods for classes & in the workplace, I think one important point often gets forgotten: health.
Is it healthy to spend hours and hours of every day in front of a computer screen? By making these 'tools' mandatory in classes, professors/teachers literally ensure that students are connected to the computer much more than they would be otherwise. At least that is how I feel. I have had a hard time posting and keeping up with email attachments from profs because I have already spent hours at the computer screen, composing assignments and article searching etc. AND THEN I have to remember to log on, look up all these blogs and spend more time in front of the screen.
My eyes are sore and carpel tunnel is on its way.
Do we want our students to talk to each other in person, or just electronically? I would argue that they already spend too much time texting, Facebooking, YouTubing, and watching movies on computers and tv screens.
They should be talking to each other in person, using a pen occasionally, and getting outside.
Anyhow, there's my rant!
Have a great break, everyone! Stay away from the screen.
Sara, you took the words right out of my mouth - or rather my fingertips. My biggest beef with technology is the health issue as well. Technology encourages us to be sedentary - sit and type, sit and stare.
ReplyDeleteFor ICT class we did a presentation on how technology helps to get us active. We looked at exergames and how technology can be used to encourage activity. The intentions of these programs are good. However, these programs still create a disconnect from "real" experiences. For example, riding a bike to keep playing a video game is a great way to get exercise, but it cannot replace the experience of actually going outside and riding a bike. Computers create (to borrow a phrase from Rousseau) an artificial experience - a substitute for real interactions and real experiences.
With technology comes accessibility, convenience, and dependence - not balance.
I totally have to agree with all of you guys on this technology issue. Not only is technology bad for our health and our students health, but it probably isn't having a positive impact on our student's social skills either? Spending hours in front of a computer playing games or instant messaging with peers seems counter productive in terms of social development. What ever happened to picking up the phone and calling your friends? Or spending time face-to-face?
ReplyDeleteThe technologies learned during the course of EDCI 336 have the potential to be used as resources to promote effective student learning, I strongly believe that the best teaching strategies and resources come from the teachers themselves. In other words, you don’t have to have all these fancy contraptions to be a extremely effective teacher. In fact, it’s obvious that sometimes technology works against teachers by making their lessons less effective. For example, information can be delivered to students too quickly when using PowerPoint slides to deliver lectures and notes rather than the traditional chalkboard. In this setting, PowerPoint quickly becomes PowerPointless (as Cameron mentioned above). Additionally, the use of tools such iClickers for students to answer in-class questions prevents students from having in-class discussions with their teachers and peers Again...will this impair our youth's ability to develop adequate social skills?
That being said, I think different technologies we've talked about this semester have the potential to make us more effective teachers, but I think we just have to be really cautious about how we use it, as well as how often.
Here's a link to a list of pros and cons for using technology in the classroom:
http://blog.classroomteacher.ca/27/classroom-technology/